


Staring

by AmericanPi



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Friendship, Funny, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 17:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6293932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmericanPi/pseuds/AmericanPi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roger walks into a lamppost while staring at Rafa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Staring

**Author's Note:**

> "Behind the Pitch" is a series of drabbles focusing on the dorky misadventures of everyone's favorite professional footballers and tennis players. Please note that the only sports I am familiar with are soccer/football and tennis, so I am not taking requests unless they are about soccer or tennis. I do hope that eventually I'll write some drabbles about sports other than soccer and tennis, but for now I'm not familiar enough with other sports to write about them.
> 
> I originally wanted "Behind the Pitch" to be a collection of little comic strips. Then I realized that drawing the comic strips was kind of a pain, so I decided to write the stories as drabbles instead. Most of these drabbles are shippy, even if the relationships are friendly, platonic, or ambiguous rather than overtly romantic.

Roger Federer's hotel was walking distance from the clay practice courts. He chose a hotel close by because he loved walking back and forth between the courts and the hotel, enjoying the pleasant Parisian atmosphere ahead of the competitiveness of the 2016 French Open.

Presently Roger was packing up his practice gear and exiting the practice court he was using. With some regret in his heart he realized that this would probably be his last French Open. He was thirty-four years old, after all. But he was determined to make this tournament a good one - for himself, for his fans, and for Rafa.

_The King of Clay,_ Roger thought to himself, smiling. Throughout all of these years Rafael Nadal had been his one of his biggest rivals and greatest friends. They had been through so much together, sharing many matches and important moments.

As Roger started walking back to his hotel, he noticed that Rafa was practicing tennis at an adjacent court. It was a rather warm Spring day, so the Spaniard had taken off his shirt and was showing off his muscular body. Roger watched as Rafa hit several excellent forehands in succession and was about to call out in greeting but decided against it.

_He's really focused,_ Roger thought, admiring the way his friend and rival moved around the court. _I'd better not disturb him. His form looks nice, too. I think he's recovered pretty well from last year, and that's amazing. He looks so strong and muscular, and-_

There was a clang, and the side of Roger's head exploded with pain.

"Fuck!" He yelled loudly as he stepped back, clutching his head and squeezing his eyes shut.

When the pain subsided, Roger opened his eyes and looked for what had caused the bump. He realized that he had crashed into a lamppost, and he suddenly felt very embarrassed.

_Oh man,_ he thought, looking around. _I was so busy staring at Rafa that I forgot to look where I was going. I hope nobody saw-_

"Rogelio," Rafael called out.

_Dang it,_ Roger thought as he turned sheepishly to face his friend, who was standing still and looking at him with a concerned facial expression.

"Rogelio, you are okay, no?" Rafa asked.

"Uh…" Roger said, taking his hand off the side of his head. He was relieved that his friend was concerned rather than amused. "Physically, no. Mentally, also no."

"Do not worry, Roger," Rafa said reassuringly. He walked over to the bench and set down his tennis racket. He rummaged around in his bag and pulled out an ice pack - a little squishy, but still cool. "I have an ice pack here, yes. You want it?"

"Thanks Rafa," Roger said, his heart warmed by the kindness of his friend. He entered the court and took the ice pack that Rafa was holding out. He placed it on the bump on his head and looked around. "I hope nobody else saw-"

Roger noticed that a paparazzi camera was pointed at him.

"Dang," he muttered, sitting down on the bench next to the court. "Now the whole world knows that I walked into a lamppost."

"No need to worry, Rogelio," Rafa said, sitting down next to him. "Remember, I had silly moment in Australian Open."

"Oh, yes," Roger said. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered. "I guess this balances that out, huh?"

Rafa nodded and laughed good-naturedly. "By the way, Rogelio," he said, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, "you were looking at me, no?"

"Maybe," Roger replied cheekily. "Maybe so, maybe yes, maybe no." He burst out laughing at Rafa's funny, knowing facial expression. "Okay, yes."


End file.
